Crystal Doors #2: Ocean Realm (No. 2) by Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta Page A

casual description of her parents’ death.
    “And what about Gwen?” Vic’s angry words lashed out like a whip. “Dad told us you’re the one who made that killer whale attack her at Ocean Kingdoms. She could have died!”
    Floating in a relaxed position with his legs crossed, Azric pressed his fingertips together. “To be sure, to be sure, but that was hardly my intent. It was really more of a test, you see. I knew, of course, that your mothers were Kyara and Fyera. I had done my homework. You know —
Born beneath the selfsame moon,
Only they may bind the rune,
And create the Ring of Might,
Right the wrongs, reverse the rite.
Sharing blood, yet not the womb,
Two shall seal the tyrant’s doom.
Darkest Sage, in darkest day,
With his blood the price shall pay.
     
    “I could not be certain that you were the children of the prophecy. One of the problems with such flowery predictions is that they never mean quite what you think they do. Why, you’re not even brother and sister, and I was searching for twins! I needed to find out if the two of you had inherited any of your mothers’ powers, or if you were merely normal children.”
    “We’re not children,” Vic growled.
    Gwen crossed her arms over her chest as if to protect herself from his ruthlessness. “And what if I had turned out to be just a normal girl?”
    Azric shrugged, as if the answer was obvious. “Why, then you would have died. However, you would have been of no use to me, so it would not have mattered.” He seemed almost surprised at her question. “But why worry about what might have been? You reacted exactly as I had hoped — and you lived.” He gave a watery, dismissive wave. “So, other than that, what have I done to earn your mistrust?”
    “Besides kidnapping us all, you mean?” Vic quipped.
    “According to the stories, you murdered your own parents, too, so that you could have all the power for yourself,” Gwen said.
    Azric did not take offense. “If you have read the legends, then you know my parents were evil. True tyrants.”
    “And you’re not?” Vic replied.
    “No, I don’t believe so.”
    “Trust me, you’re not the most objective judge. Sharif says you killed his brother —”
    Again, Azric used that maddening come-come-now-let’s-be-reasonable tone. “Why dwell in the past? We’ve all made a few missteps along the way.”
    “Yup. I skipped a class at school once,” Vic said. “Not exactly the same ballpark as murder.”
    “Perhaps, but neither have you spent thousands of years dwelling in many other worlds and amassing great wisdom. My hard-earned knowledge assures me now that you are the children of the prophecy. Therefore, I require your help.”
    “The question is, what makes you think we’d go along with anything you want?” Gwen said. “I don’t see any reason to help you.”
    The dark sage gave them a kindly smile. “Why, I thought you would grasp the most obvious reason right away: if you don’t cooperate, I will be forced to kill your three friends.”

12
     
    WHEN SHARIF, LYSSANDRA, AND Tiaret were separated from their other two friends, they had a terrible uneasy feeling. Four merlon guards stroked along beside them, always ready to deliver a painful shock with their accompanying electric eels. Sharif wanted to comfort Piri, to stroke her eggsphere and somehow communicate with her that they would find a way out of this.
    He couldn’t believe the merlons had not snatched his beautiful djinni from him. She hung on his chest inside her mesh sack. Everyone could see her, especially when she glowed her wonderful colors. The merlon king had taken Tiaret’s teaching staff from Orpheon, but somehow Piri hadn’t intrigued him enough. And as for Orpheon and Azric, they hadn’t given the eggsphere a second glance. Maybe they did not think it was of any use. Still, Sharif felt very vulnerable with her. Someone could snatch his precious djinni at any moment.
    Beside them, leading the group away from